Nomination deadline now closed

WELLINGTON COUNTY – The nomination period for the 2026 municipal election has closed.

Prospective candidates had until 2pm on Aug. 21 to file with their local municipality.

A list of those who filed prior to the deadline, and have had their candidacy certified, is below.

(Incumbent candidates – those currently on council and running for the same seat – are noted with an asterisk* behind their name. This list has been updated from an earlier version and now includes all certified candidates).

Centre Wellington

Five people are running for mayor in Centre Wellington Township:

• Neil Dunsmore;
• Stephen Kitras;
• Kelly Linton;
• Shawn Watters*; and
• Bronwynne Wilton.

Councillor candidates in Centre Wellington, which uses a ward system are:

• Sophie Hogan, Ward 1;
• Lisa MacDonald, Ward  1*;
• Erika Montero, Ward 1;
• Kimberly Jefferson, Ward 2*; 
• Darcy Saunders, Ward 2;
• David DeWitt, Ward 3;
• Robert Foster, Ward 3;
• Barbara Lustgarten Evoy, Ward 3*;
• Shivam Taneja, Ward 3;
• Jennifer Adams, Ward 4*;
• Maddy Smith, Ward 4;
• Julie Charbonneau, Ward 5;
• Matt LeBeau, Ward 5;
• Elnor Walsh, Ward 5;
• Pamela Brown-Wass, Ward 6;
• Matt Bunch, Ward 6; and
• Richard Pinder,Ward 6.

Erin

Mayoral candidates in the Town of Erin are:

• Michael Dehn*;
• Dusty Scott; and
• Rob Smith. 

Erin councillor candidates include (four to be elected);

• Cathy Aylard*;
• Sunjay Bedi;
• John Brennan*;
• Jamie Cheyne*;
• Sukhchain Gill;
• Benita Raponi;
• Sid Spear;
• Tracey Wallace; and
• Alex Zaichuk.

Guelph/Eramosa

The candidates for mayor in Guelph/Eramosa Township are Dan Kennaley and Chris White*.

Councillor candidates in the ward system include:

• Jason Baldwin, Ward 1;
• Philip Mullis, Ward 1;
• Bill Weima, Ward 1;
• Jason Peart, Ward 2; 
• Corey Woods, Ward 2*;
• Tara Groves-Taylor, Ward 3;
• Steven Liebig, Ward 3*;
• Lisa Logan-Dayman, Ward 3;
• Mark Bouwmeester,  Ward 4*;
• Mark Montgomery, Ward 4; and
• Bree Wilson, Ward 4.

Mapleton

Mayoral candidates in Mapleton Township are Gregg Davidson* and Amanda Reid.

Councillor candidates are (four to be elected):

• Alby Mbanjabahizi;
• Andy Knetsch;
• Doug Duimering;
• Jennifer Goertzen;
• Lori Woodham*;
• Marlene Ottens*;
• Michael Martin*;
• Paul Snider; and
• Robin Larkin.

Minto

Dave Turton* is the only mayoral candidate in the Town of Minto and will be acclaimed.

Candidates for deputy mayor are Jean Anderson* and Marté Pronk.

Councillor candidates are (five to be elected):

• Joe Andrade;
• Debra Dennison;
• Judy Dirksen*;
• Ron Elliott*;
• Jennifer Gibson;
• Louise Howe;
• Shawn McDonald;
• Joe Park;
• Patrick Raftis;
• Mike Roesch;
• Susan Thurston; and
• Paul Zimmerman*.

Puslinch

Mayoral candidates in Puslinch Township are:

• Stephanie McCrone;
• James Seeley*; and
• Michael Wilford.

Candidates for Puslinch council are (four to be elected);

• Sara Bailey*;
• Steven Dorgo;
• Jessica Goyda*;
• Russel Hurst*;
• John Sepulis*; and
• David Smedley.

Wellington North

Candidates for mayor in Wellington North Township are Kelly Dimick and Steven McCabe.

Candidates for council in the ward system are:

• Wayne Allen, Ward 1;
• Michelle McInnis, Ward 1; 
• Penny Renken, Ward 1*;
• Laura Aston, Ward 2;
• Sherry Burke, Ward 2*;
• Adriana Cea, Ward 2;
• James Craig, Ward 3;
• Lisa Hern, Ward 3*;
• Erin Kiers, Ward 3;
• Serge Karwal, Ward 4;
• Troy Lawlor, Ward 4; and
• Alex Zantout, Ward 4.

Wellington County

Wellington County council is comprised of 16 members: the mayors of the seven lower-tier municipalities and nine councillors elected in a ward system (see ward map below).

Candidates running include (those in wards 1, 2 and 5-9 are acclaimed)::

• David Anderson*, Ward 1 (Minto);
• Earl Campbell*, Ward 2 (Mapleton)*;
• Campbell Cork*, Ward 3 (north/west Wellington North);
• Dan Yake, Ward 3;
• Stephen O’Neil*, Ward 4 (southeast Wellington North and north Centre Wellington);
• Allan Tota, Ward 4;
• Mary Lloyd*, Ward 5 (west portion of Centre Wellington);
• Diane Ballantyne*, Ward 6 (southeast portion of Centre Wellington);
• Matthew Bulmer*, Ward 7* (Puslinch and west Guelph/Eramosa);
• Doug Breen*, Ward 8 (east Guelph/Eramosa); and
• Jeff Duncan*, Ward 9*.

School board trustees

Candidates running for trustee for the Upper Grand District School Board include:

• Chris Davies (Centre Wellington);
• Chris McGarvey (Centre Wellington);
• Jen Edwards* (Erin, Guelph/Eramosa, East Garafraxa) - acclaimed;
• Curtis Cox (Minto, Mapleton, Wellington North);
• Mike Johnson (Minto, Mapleton, Wellington North); and
• Kyle Reaburn* (Guelph Ward 6, Puslinch) - acclaimed.

Wellington Catholic District School Board trustee candidates are:

• Cassandra O’Donnell* (Erin, Guelph/Eramosa, Puslinch) - acclaimed; and
• Andrew Finoro* (Minto, Mapleton, Wellington North, Centre Wellington) - acclaimed.

French-language school trustee candidates for the area include:

• Rachid Barrima, candidate in the Conseil Scolaire Viamonde (French public schools) for Wellington, Middlesex, Perth, Huron, Waterloo) - acclaimed; and
• Genevieve Grenier*, candidate in the Conseil Scolaire Catholique MonAvenir (French Catholic schools) for Wellington, Dufferin, Brampton, Caledon) - acclaimed.

*(Denotes incumbent candidate.)